A
well-known climate change skeptic has
changed his mind regarding the importance of global warming,
and in his new book, he is urging the spending of over $100 billion
annually to help fight warming.

Bjorn
Lomborg, an academic and environmental author, has held a strong
opposing opinion against global warming for some time now, writing
books such as "The
Skeptical Environmentalist." In this book, he argues
against claims regarding certain aspects of global warming, species
loss, water shortages, etc. It was a controversial book when it was
first published in Danish in 1998, then in English (2001).

In
addition, Lomborg has campaigned against the Kyoto
Protocol, which is a protocol to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change that fights
global warming. He has stated that humans should adapt to
short-term climate rises, since they are inevitable, instead of
trying to cut carbon emissions in the short-term.

After
making so many controversial statements and making his opinion
against the importance of global warming known, Lomborg has now
switched teams and makes this new vision clear in his
upcoming book, "Smart Solutions to Climate Change," which
will be published next month.

Lomborg
never denied the human role
in global warming, but always argued that trying to counter
climate change should be a "low priority" when it comes to
government spending. Now, in his new book, Lomborg says fighting
climate change is a priority and that over $100 billion should be
spent annually to address the issue.

"The
point I've always been making is it's not the end of the world,"
said Lomborg. "That's why we should be measuring up to what
everybody else says, which is we should be spending our money well."

So
what made him change his mind? According to Lomborg, the Copenhagen
Consensus project, which is where a group of economists are asked
to consider the best way to spend $50 billion, made him reconsider
global warming's importance. He noted that in 2004, global warming
was put near the bottom of the list, and in 2008, new ideas for
fighting global warming made it about halfway up the list. Lomborg
then stated that he "decided to consider a much wider variety of
policies to reduce global warming, so it wouldn't end up at the
bottom."

Lomborg
now proposes a global carbon tax to raise $250 billion annually,
where $100 billion will be spent on clean energy research and
development, $50 billion on climate change adaptation and $1 billion
on low-cost geo-engineering solutions. He wants the rest to be
spent on better healthcare in poor countries and cleaner water.

"Lomborg
has acknowledged the need for public spending on man-made climate
change," said Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth climate
campaigner. "He is right that wind, wave and solar are
the energy industries in the future and need much greater support
from governments. A carbon tax to raise funds is undoubtedly part of
the solution, but regulation and public spending also have their
place.

"But
he is still dangerously attracted to pursuing the cheapest, more
risky geo-engineering solutions, is putting too much faith in future
technologies and R&D, and is not giving enough support to the
urgent need to reduce
current emissions through rapid deployment of existing
solutions and behavioral changes."

A
Greenpeace spokesperson noted that while Lomborg's cross to the other
side is welcomed, it's about two decade too late, and it's hard for
some groups to take him seriously. According to the Guardian,
some have dismissed Lomborg as "politically naive." Lomborg
was an anchor in the climate change skeptic community, and his change
of mind is sure to rock the boat.

Comments

Threshold

Username

Password

remember me

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled